<p>An 83-year-old pilot from Bradenton was airlifted to a local hospital Sunday after his plane crashed into a cow pasture off U.S. Highway 41 in southern Hillsborough County.</p><p>At about 9:30 a.m., Eugene Massa took off from Airport Manatee in Palmetto. He was flying a small experimental ultralight fixed-wing plane, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said.</p><p>When he reached about 300 feet in altitude, he started having engine problems. He crashed in a pasture at 6528 Highway 41, near the Manatee County line, about 500 feet off the highway.</p><p>When rescue units arrived, they found Massa "alert and talking," the Sheriff's Office said. He was the only person in the plane, and authorities airlifted him to Blake Medical Center in Bradenton.</p><p>The remainder of the investigation will be conducted by the Federal Aviation Administration.</p>